Russian threats: Joe Biden warns of a risk of "nuclear apocalypse"
For the first time since the Cold War, US President Joe Biden warned of a risk of "apocalypse", Thursday, October 6, 2022. REUTERS - TOM BRENNER
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
As Russia thinly veiledly threatens to use its nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he was "
not kidding
" and recalled that the world had "
not been confronted to the possibility of an apocalypse since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis
”.
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Vladimir Putin is not joking
, said Joe Biden, when he speaks
of “a possible use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons
”, because his army “
is very underperforming
”.
And the American president to evoke “
a risk of use of the nuclear weapon for the first time since the crisis of the Cuban missiles, if the things continue to follow the way which they currently borrow
”.
It is in reference to this crisis of 1962 and the risk that it had posed, that the American president used the expression “
nuclear apocalypse
” (“Nuclear Armageddon”).
“
What is the exit door for Putin
”
The
New York Times
points out that, for 60 years, American presidents have spoken only extremely rarely and in such a dark tone of the possible use of nuclear weapons.
Joe Biden did it at a fundraiser for Democratic Senate candidates.
During this type of event, underlines the Associated Press agency, the head of state tends to be less on his guard, more direct.
At the end of September, his security adviser had already stressed that any use of nuclear weapons would have catastrophic consequences for Russia.
“
We are trying to figure out what is the exit door for Putin
,” explained the American president on Thursday: “
How can he get out of this, position himself so as not to lose face or a significant portion of his power in Russia
”.
►
To read also:
Ukraine: the undertones of the nuclear threat wielded by Russia
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